Supporting your child’s reading at home

Research shows that reading to a child is the single most important thing you can do to support your child’s education.

Make a Regular Time To Read Together Each Day (5-10 minutes)

Create a regular ‘special time’ to read together.

Switch off the TV and your mobile phone.

Reading the Right Book

It’s important that your child reads books that are right level and/or of interest to them.

The aim is to give your child lots of successful reading experiences so they will become a happy and confident reader.

Before Your Child Starts Reading Aloud

Look at the pictures/chapter titles and ask them to tell you what they think is happening in the book. (The pictures carry the meaning and help the child think about what is happening in the story and figure out unknown words).

Getting Stuck at an Unknown Word

Ask, “what’s the first sound?”

“What parts of the word do you know?”

“What would look right and make sense?”

If they have used these strategies and can’t figure the word out, then it is okay to tell them the word.

Encourage your child to re-read the sentence after they have made the correction. This will help them maintain the meaning which is always the most important part!

Praise Your Child for Their Reading

After Reading - Talk About the Book

Discussing the story is a good way to check that they have understood what they have read. Use questions that encourage them to say more than ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

Ask questions about the story. Say something like, “Why do you think the dog was barking?”